Inspired by Nature

What inspires an individual’s creativity in writing and other arts? The answer to this question would vary with each individual as perception shapes what is defined as “inspirational.” Though certain sources of inspiration have a common thread, since they are rooted in our shared human experiences. Life gives us everyday opportunities to experience inspiration , though we need our senses open to receive it.

One of the best sources of inspiration can be found in nature, which can inspire us to great poetic heights as evident in To Autumn by John Keats. Beauty of nature creates an aesthetic feeling that is uplifting and enlivens the senses. My writing partner, Deborah Morrison, wrote a beautiful passage “Beauty of Nature” in our book Nexus: A Neo Novel, which depicts the ecstatic experience of Logan Andrews as he is inspired by the beauty that surrounds him on a hilltop.

I find that stepping into natural landscapes changes my perception, since the contours and lines are rounded and less defined there. In cityscapes, everything is harsh and sharply defined and our sensibilities need to step away from the starkness of the city to be reinvigourated. We can compare the sharp boxed buildings found in many cities to the softness of trees found in nature.

This is why I make time to commune with nature and attune to her rhythms. In Southern Ontario, I also enjoy the seasons change. Deborah’s Sacred Circle is one of my favourite poems on the sense of wonder around seasonal changes. Copies of her first poetry book, Mystical Poetry, are now a rare item. In fact, a few weeks ago a used copy sold for around $200 on Amazon Canada. So someone out there is truly inspired by her poems.

The beauty of nature is inspiring at many levels and as artists we struggle to capture our experience of it. How to describe the intricacies of a snowflake? Or the migration of birds, butterflies, whales and other animals? Or the sunset on a beach? Sometimes we find the words or the image to commit to canvas. At other times the inspiration is there, yet we struggle to communicate the essence of our experience. The pristine experience is rarefied through our artistic endeavours.

We welcome you to share on what you find inspiring about nature. Or your own experiences of nature expressed in your own words or art.

Read Full Post »

My New Year’s Resolutions & Happy holidays!

Another year passes

And into the next one we gaze

With wonder, hope

And best intentions

Many resolutions

We make for a new year:

“This year I will be gentler, smarter, healthier…”

Or in some other way better

Yet intentions to keep

Our declared promises are fantasy

That are rarely grounded in reality

Yet without these avowed declarations

How can we impress others

With the importance of our New Year Resolution?

This year I will make grand resolutions

As in years past

But now I will call them my New Year Irresolutions

And leave it at that

Deborah and I wish everyone most Happy Holidays & Best Wishes for next year.

Peace & blessings,

• From authors of NEXUS: A Neo Novel

Read Full Post »

A Poem: Oh Tree!

Oh Tree!

How many autumns

Have you seen? O tree!

How many seasons

Have you graced

With enflamed leaves?

Oh tree! You delight

My senses

By your bright hues

Yet the days grow shorter

As October

Becomes

November

A sombre time

When you are naked

Waiting for the first snow

To hide your shame

In December

Your naked limbs

The snow covers

And Christmas lights

Delight the senses

With artificial hues

The warm days of summer

Are gone

And become

A memory

Still the circle of the seasons

Rotates

With the promise

Of the return of spring and summer

To keep you and I warm

During the frosty months

Of winter.

Read Full Post »

MY SOUL ENCHANTED

Read Full Post »

DAFFODIL

The meandering path

to our destiny is

like a butterfly

here, there, everywhere

until depth and higher meaning is

discovered from within

then with wings open

guided to one glorious Daffodil

a soul fulfilled with purpose

uplifted with

passion over rationality

heart before head

faith over reason

by Deborah Morrison

Read Full Post »

WILD ROSES

Make my mind still as a calm lake without waves

thoughts clear as crystal water

by Your grace open my heart softly

like petals of a wild Rose

scent my words with Your sweet inspiration

let all my cares drift into the mists

that I may share Your ways of wisdom

for that which grows wild, free

is always more beautiful

than that which is cultivated,

may creative, natural, spontaneity

be the still small voice

that guides my way

in humble gratitude

I arise to Your sacred ways

oh Great Spirit

source Eternal

by Deborah Morrison

Read Full Post »

A Poem: APOLOGIES OF LOVE

I thought love could be controlled
It cannot
I thought that love would adapt to me
it does not
needs, expectations, societal
coerce
obscurity of grey cloud
cast in the azure of a warm summer sky
through silences
between the spoken word
illuminates all that is done
manifest reality, acts and intentions
seen in a new light
deeds of omission and commission
all that is nearest now
contrasts become defined
a whisper of emergence
is yet unnoticed
all rests on contingency
of the superstructure
of what is supposed to be
are we loving yet?
emulating even an insignificant degree of Truth?
an appropriate future should form
should it not?

a process even though slightly
a compromise
of hearts desire, an apology
heart shattering but nevertheless prolific
a do not disturb or disrupt
policy is well maintained
and the distance kept and enforced
is so utterly acceptable
submissions of nebulous order
versus
the spontaneity of authenticity
perspicacious
yet paradoxically
corrosive and carcinogenic, in a spiritual sense

in essence
a soul fragmented
but invisibly so
besides the visual effects
are purely natural,
the flower
merely blossoms then falls
to die, isnt it supposed to be so?
the historicity of the flower
had a linear natural pattern
to display, each one an experience unique, progressive
the rhythms of time, that is the beauty of it.
the flower once had
petals profuse dynamic
prolific
as they intertwined
into an abundance of a foreverness of one.
splendor blossoms
with the transcendence of eternity
the beauty was brief, but wasnt the depth profound?

as the quest toward mundane success surfaces
apparently and with deliberance it
severed the blossom from where it had been
the fall was swift, silent
natural yet also
with finality. was it spiritual? logically
argued that it is natural and therefore to be
accepted with grace
as grace
all I do now is wonder what kind of grace
impositional? Divine?
can the dew of heaven
bless this union now?
the nectar of Divine Will is sublime,
devotion, pure and lovely
yet the waters separate from the sky
in the horizon, just look into the distance.
my hand trembles before such a destiny
or before such a tragic comedy.

to think that love could be controlled.
the best part of love does not answer
to any conscious intent
can you see it too?
or is it just a peculiarity of perception?
nevertheless
I hope and pray
that you will accept
my most humble and sincere
apologies
of
love.

by Deborah Morrison

From Mystical Poetry

Read Full Post »

First Verse of Sikh Morning Prayer (Japuji Sahib): Path to Truth

The first verse of the Sikh Morning Prayer, Japuji Sahib, has always held a special meaning for me. So I would like to share it:

By rituals mind is not made pure even with a million rituals

Silence of the tongue does not silence the mind even when prolonged

Inwardly unsatisified do not find satisfaction even with all the world’s goods

Even with a million clever thoughts not even one accompanies you (at death)

How to become truthful? How to break the veil of illusion?

Says Nanak: “Accept the Will (Hukam) enshrined within”

This passage shows the futility of certain practices as paths to find truth, including ritual, asceticism (silence), materialism and empiricism (clever thoughts). So given that all these attempts fail, then how can one become truthful?

The veil of illusion mentioned is created by the ego-influenced mind that does not realize its connection with all life. The Will (Hukam) mentioned is similar in nature to the Tao in Taoism. Something that is subtle yet all are within it. When we search within ourselves, we find the understanding of the Hukam within. Then ego-based illusion of duality gives way to a vision of oneness.

The important aspect found throughout this passage is the contrast between outer practice and the inner state of mind. So that no matter what you attempt on the outside, it has little merit unless you can actually change the inner state of your mind. So Guru Nanak recommends that we look within our consciousness for the truth that we seek. The positive affirmation is that if we search within, we will find what we seek.

Read Full Post »

BEYOND DUALITIES

i in nothingness exist

No black or white

No good or evil

No happiness or sorrow

No attachment or detachment

Neither this nor that

Yet connected to all

 

Permanent in temporality

 

All suffering

The product of dualities

Is overcome

By an integration of polarities

 

Read Full Post »

ETCHED

Intricate scarlet designs weave summer

botanicals on a tapestry of soft earthen brown

ruby red poppies peak proud, etched erubescense

across the yielding terrestrial field

two free butterflies alight on crimson petal softness

like drifting clouds of daydreams become

manifest artful designs, horticultural miracles

emerge from solar drenched soil

golden orb enlightens, shimmering beams

sizzle shades of emerald aesthetics

like gems that catch the sun

adorn elegant trees,

leaves, grasses, while their tangled roots

descend deeper underground

into the sultry mid-day soil

Mother Earth’s embrace is alchemy

like a sacred temple

Read Full Post »